i8o 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



April, 



appreciate to the full extent the possible de- 

 velopment of the aesthetic side of his profes- 

 sion, he will be qualified to meet the arguments 

 of such people in a broad spirit of mutual un- 

 derstanding, and will, moreover, derive a large 

 additional share of enjoyment from the woods 

 in which his pathwaj^ so largely lies Forest 

 aesthetics should not be regarded as distinct 

 from forestry, but, in truth, as an evidence of 

 its highest and most perfect development. The 

 recognition of this fact cannot but reflect fa- 

 vorably upon the profession of forestry, and 

 will give it an added dignity and a larger 

 sphere of influence. 



G. Frederick Schwarz. 



Our National Parks. ByJoHNMuiR. Pp.370. 

 Illustrated with eleven half-tones and a 

 map. Boston : Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

 1902. Price, 11.75 net. 



John Muir, geologist, explorer, and natural- 

 ist, and perhaps the best informed of any liv- 

 ing man on the natural resources of the western 

 United States, has written an unusually read- 

 able book under the title of "Our National 

 Parks. ' ' The purpose of the volume the author 

 states in the preface in these words : "In this 

 book ... I have done the best I could to 

 show forth the beauty, grandeur, and all-em- 

 bracing usefulness of our wild mountain forest 

 resen-ations and parks, with a view to inciting 

 the people to come and enjoy them and get 

 them into their hearts, that so at length their 

 preservation and right use ma}' be made sure." 



The book is divided into ten chapters, the 

 opening one being a description of the various 

 national parks and forest reserves of the West. 

 The ' ' Yellowstone National Park ' ' comes 

 next, and in this the author has a subject that 

 gives full scope for his rich descriptive style. 

 Following this, the next six chapters contain 

 the most comprehensive and interesting de- 

 scription to be found of the celebrated Yos'emite 

 National Park. This portion of the book con- 

 tains a chapter on the ' ' Yosemite National 

 Park;" then "The Forests of the Yosemite 

 Park" are described. Next are "The Wild 

 Gardens of the Yosemite Park;" then some 

 time is spent "Among the Animals of the Yo- 

 semite Park," likewise the "Birds," and this 

 portion closes with a chapter on the ' ' Foun- 

 tains and Streams of the Yosemite National 

 Park." 



Next in turn comes a chapter on the ' ' Sequoia 

 and General Grant National Parks," in which 

 there is contained a splendid study of the Big 

 Trees {Sequoia gi(ranlea), and the book ends 

 with an interesting chapter on ' ' American 

 Forests." 



To readers more especialh' interested in for- 

 estry, the chapters on "The Forests of the 

 Y^osemite," "The vSequoia," and "American 

 Forests" will prove most timely. The de- 

 scription of the Big Trees is especially well 

 done, and Mr. Muir's many visits to the 

 Sierras have given him opportunities possessed 

 hy few to studv these trees. Some idea of his 



long acquaintance with the Big Tree region 

 may be had from a single sentence in his book : 

 "One of my best excursions among the Se- 

 quoias was made during the autumn of 1S75." 



Two points especially noteworthy in this 

 book are the author's enthusiasm and his ex- 

 ceptionally beautiful style. Upon first reading 

 one is inclined to think that Mr. Muir sees too 

 many beauties in that western country, and 

 yet on second thought we must admit that 

 thirty or more years are a good test, and he 

 has had the best opportunities to learn the 

 truth. His observations are all at first hand, 

 as the book so plainly shows. He is true to 

 his text, ' ' Going to the woods is going home. ' ' 



The book abounds in beautiful passages. We 

 cannot refrain from quoting here the follow- 

 ing concerning the lumbering of the Douglas 

 spruce : 



" Felled and peeled and dragged to tide- 

 water, they are raised again as yards and masts 

 for ships, given iron roots and canvas foliage, 

 decorated with flags, and sent to the sea, where 

 in glad motion they go cheerily over the ocean 

 prairie in every latitude and longitude, sing- 

 ing and bowing responsive to the same winds 

 that waved them when they were in the woods. 

 After standing in one place for centuries they 

 thus go around the world like tourists, meet- 

 ing man}' a friend from the old home forest ; 

 some traveling like themselves, some standing 

 head downward in muddy harbors, holding up 

 the platforms of wharves, and others doing all 

 kinds of hard timber work, showy or hidden." 



If you want to learn about the glaciers, 

 mountain peaks, canyons, and great waterfalls 

 of the West ; of the habits of the animals, from 

 the squirrel to the moose ; plant life from the 

 Big Trees to the wild flowers in fact, be 

 brought face to face with Nature's works, this 

 is the book. Taken altogether, it is the best 

 written and most valuable nature book we 

 know of. 



The Atlantic Monthlv for April contains an 

 unusually interesting article by Paul Griswold 

 Huston entitled ' ' The Day's Work of a For- 

 ester. " This article contains a careful de- 

 scription of the field and office work required 

 of foresters, and also the importance of an in- 

 telligent exploitation of forests. Mr. Huston 

 was for some time an employ^ of the Bureau 

 of Forestry, and had .a good opportunity to 

 sti;dy this subject. The article gives a good 

 insight into the life of the forester, and is a 

 welcome addition to the literature, on the sub- 

 ject. 



Typical Forest Trees. Three series of 8 photo- 

 gravures, 9x12 inches, of well-known forest 

 trees. A. W. Mumford, publisher, Chicago, 

 111. Price, 40 cents a series. 



This series of photogravure plates illustrates 

 twenty-four of the best-known American forest 

 trees. Each plate shows the tree as it appears 

 in nature; also views showing characteristics 

 of bark and leaf habit. 



